The Washington Times reports that Democrats are planning to circumvent normal legislative procedure and hold the conference to reconcile House and Senate versions of the health care bill in secret. This won't surprise anyone as Dems have negotiated so much of this and other bills in secret.
On December 30, Brian Lamb, CEO of C-Span sent this letter (PDF) to leaders of both houses of Congress asking that they live up to Obama's pledge:
"President Obama, Senate and House leaders, many of your rank-and-file members, and the nation's editorial pages have all talked about the value of transparent discussions on reforming the nation's health care system. Now that the process moves to the critical stage of reconciliation between the chambers, we respectfully request that you allow the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every single American."Little more than a year ago Obama made his pledge in multiple forums as part of his plan to bring a new kind of politics to Washington. Here's a reminder:
White House Dodges Questions on Televising Conference
ABC's Jake Tapper asked White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs whether the White House would support televising this conference. You can read his answer here but it's not worth your time. All he did was bob and weave. He's pretty good at that but it's also very transparent.
One caveat: Democrats may produce a sham show in public to cover up what is really going on behind closed doors. It won't fool anyone but the gullible.
Legislation affecting the life of every single American and even at the end, it will be negotiated in secret! Some change!
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